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Polymers
Special Issues
Recent Advances in Hydrogels
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Recent Advances in Hydrogels

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Networks".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 5585

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yan Huang

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Guest Editor
College of Biological Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China
Interests: polyelectrolyte; colloids; hydrogel

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,             

Hydrogel has gained enormous interest in the field of polymer and material science. From the exploration of new, gel-forming material to the modulation of gel properties, and to applications in a variety of fields such as soft electronics and tissue engineering, the research on this soft material is experiencing rapid growth.

For this Special Issue of the open access journal Polymers, we aim to publish cutting-edge research on hydrogels. Emphasis will be placed on but, not limited to, the following:

  • Novel approaches and concepts of hydrogel synthesis and functionalization;
  • Hydrogels with unique mechanical and viscoelastic properties;
  • Hydrogels made from natural macromolecules;
  • Novel application of hydrogels including but not limited to tissue engineering, soft robots, soft electronics, etc.;
  • Mechanisms and physics behind certain properties of hydrogels;
  • Supramolecular hydrogel and hydrogel formed though self-assembly.

Dr. Yan Huang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2576 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Properties of a Novel Biodegradable Composite Hydrogel Derived from Gelatin/Chitosan and Polylactic Acid as Slow-Release N Fertilizer
by Weijie Yuan, Sihan Li, Haohui Guan, Shuai Zhang, Yaoxiang Zhang, Min Zhang, Yi Yu and Xiangyi Chen
Polymers 2023, 15(4), 997; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15040997 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2752
Abstract
To improve the efficient use of nitrogen and decrease the environmental pollution of N losses, a novel and biodegradable composite hydrogel was prepared by chemical cross-linking synthesis using gelatin (Gel), chitosan (CS) and polylactic acid (PLA) as raw materials. Urea as the nitrogen [...] Read more.
To improve the efficient use of nitrogen and decrease the environmental pollution of N losses, a novel and biodegradable composite hydrogel was prepared by chemical cross-linking synthesis using gelatin (Gel), chitosan (CS) and polylactic acid (PLA) as raw materials. Urea as the nitrogen source was loaded into this new biodegradable hydrogel using the solution immersion method. The chemical structures of the composite hydrogels were characterized and their properties were analyzed by XRD and XPS. The regulation of urea loading and the swelling behavior of the composite hydrogel under different temperature conditions were investigated; the release behavior and release model of the composite hydrogel in the aqueous phase was explored. The results show that the loading of urea is controllable in aqueous urea solution with different concentrations. In the water phase, it shows a three-stage sustained release behavior, that is, the initial release rate of urea is relatively fast, and the medium release rate of urea gradually slows down, and finally the nutrient release rate tends to be flat. The release behavior in the water phase fits to the Ritger–Peppas model. Within 10 min, 180 min and 900 min, the cumulative nutrient release rate of gelatin/chitosan/PLA-urea (GCPU) composite hydrogel is 20%, 70% and 86%, respectively. Compared with pure urea, The urea diffusion time of GCPU was extended by 1350-times. In addition, the GCPU also has good water absorption and water retention properties, in which average water content can reach as high as 4448%. All of the results in this work showed that GCPU hydrogel had good water absorption and retention and N slow-release properties, which are expected to be widely used in sustainable agriculture and forestry, especially in arid and degraded land. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Hydrogels)
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14 pages, 3654 KiB  
Article
Controllable Construction of Temperature-Sensitive Supramolecular Hydrogel Based on Cellulose and Cyclodextrin
by Jiayin Wu, Qilin Lu, Hanchen Wang, Beili Lu and Biao Huang
Polymers 2022, 14(18), 3801; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14183801 - 11 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2199
Abstract
In temperature sensitive hydrogels, the swelling degree or light transmittance of the gel itself changes with variations in ambient temperature, prompting its wide application in controlled drug release, tissue engineering, and material separation. Considering the amphiphilic structure of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), a cellulose-based supramolecular [...] Read more.
In temperature sensitive hydrogels, the swelling degree or light transmittance of the gel itself changes with variations in ambient temperature, prompting its wide application in controlled drug release, tissue engineering, and material separation. Considering the amphiphilic structure of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), a cellulose-based supramolecular hydrogel with superior temperature sensitivity was synthesized based on a combination of cellulose and β-CD as well as the host–guest interaction between β-CD and polypropylene glycol (PPG). In the one-pot tandem reaction process, chemical grafting of β-CD on cellulose and the inclusion complexation of β-CD with PPG were performed simultaneously in a NaOH/urea/water system. The obtained supramolecular hydrogel had a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 34 °C. There existed covalent bonding between the cellulose and β-CD, host–guest complexation between the β-CD and PPG, and hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions between the components in the network structure of the supramolecular hydrogel. The combination of various covalent and non-covalent bonds endowed the resulting supramolecular hydrogel with good internal network structure stability and thermal stability, as well as sensitive temperature responsiveness within a certain range—implying its potential as a smart material in the fields of medicine, biology, and textiles. This work is expected to bring new strategies for the fabrication of cellulose-based thermosensitive materials, benefitting the high-value utilization of cellulose. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Hydrogels)
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